Actor and playwright Katie Beckett is one of the
growing number of Indigenous women taking
ownership of their stories and writing bloody good
theatre. “I got sick of playing roles where I was always
the victim – being raped, being murdered, being
voiceless,” Katie explains. “Either that, or I was playing
a little boy. But even then, the same things were
happening – I was bashed or raped. Otherwise, I was
playing a ghost that spurts out random magical pieces
of advice... because I’m Aboriginal.”Katie’s debut play, Which Way Home, is a
drama- comedy that celebrates her love for her dad.
“I wrote it after his fifth heart attack,” she remembers.
“Dad was in hospital, and I’d just had my son. After
you have a kid, you realise how much your parents do
for you.” Not only did Katie’s father raise her solo, he
supported her dreams, no matter what. “I’d always be
telling people, ‘I want to be an actor and a writer,’ and
everybody would say, ‘Oh, it’s a pipedream – you can’t
do that.’ But Dad would be like, ‘You can do whatever
you want, my baby. You want to go act? You act.’”
Thankfully, her father survived his heart attack (and
the next one, too) and has been able to enjoy watching
the play he inspired tour Australia. There’s even talk of
it touring Canada; becoming a book for young people;
and being turned into a feature film. Pretty good for
someone who was never trained in playwriting – or
acting, for that matter.
“I was actually studying to be a director of
photography,” Katie says, “but when actors didn’t
show up on the student films I was shooting, people
would talk me into getting in front of the camera.” Her
improvised dialogue, which came from the heart, was
effectively the start of her writing career. “I noticed
people liked the yarns I was spinning, and from there,
I managed to get work.”
Just don’t go seeing Katie’s shows for the CliffsNotes
on Indigenous history. “When white people come to
Aboriginal theatre, they expect you to educate them.
Man, I’m not a fucking history book. You want the
history, you can find it yourself. Go on Google; ask
the local Aboriginal people around you; go to your
Aboriginal Land Council where you live. I’m not here
to educate you. I’m here to tell a story.”to
Mia Mala McDonald
Phot